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The Deathstone
:For the meteorite featured in this episode, see Deathstone Meteorite. For the Golden Books publication, see Mission: Meteor. For the novelization, see The Deathstone (Knight Books). V.E.N.O.M. steals a meteor that exhibits life-giving properties. Plot Synopsis A comet careens through the night sky and crashes in an uninhabited, rocky area. The impact crater glows brightly, and plant life begins to grow spontaneously along the crater walls. The next day, military troops and scientists, clad in radiation suits, examine the area. The scientists discover that the meteor is extremely radioactive. They discuss harnessing the life-giving radioactive energy to save lives. Suddenly, a yellow glow appears from above. A strange craft appears, and everyone runs for cover. One of the scientists, who has been documenting the proceedings with a video camera, finds safety under a truck and continues to film. The UFO-like craft hovers over the crater, lowers inside for a moment, and flies away. The crater is no longer glowing. As the scientist with the camera gives chase, a mysterious figure in a radiation suit watches the proceedings while adjusting a remote control. He laughs at the scientists and removes his helmet, revealing himself to be none other than Cliff Dagger. The scientist with the camera looks into the crater and realizes the meteor is missing. Dagger realizes that the scientist’s footage could be incriminating, and attempts to retrieve the camera. Pulling off the scientist’s helmet, Dagger is surprised to see that she is a woman. She kicks him in the shin and runs to a nearby military jeep. As she pulls away, Dagger alerts Sly Rax. Sly Rax chases the scientist through the desert. She removes the videotape from her camera. Rax uses Piranha’s lasers to frighten her. Dagger catches up to the chase in Jackhammer and fires his grille lasers at the jeep. The vehicles enter a canyon, where Rax shoots out one of the jeep’s tires. Out of control, the jeep flies off a cliff into a river. Rax and Dagger assume the scientist could not have survived the crash. At the Trakker residence, the scientist, Professor Stevens, is awakened by Matt Trakker. Stevens is pleased to meet the noted philanthropist and asks for his assistance, handing over the videotape. Meanwhile, Scott Trakker beats T-Bob at ping pong. They decide to spy on Matt. Matt Trakker uses his powerful computer system to analyze the videotape. The computer informs Trakker that the UFO is a fake and (due mostly to Dagger appearing on the tape) that V.E.N.O.M. has stolen it. The computer recommends that M.A.S.K. an' UPG be assembled. Trakker tells Professor Stevens to get some rest, and has the computer select the appropriate agents for the mission. Brad Turner leaves his band in the middle of a concert. Bruce Sato’s watch alerts him while he is working on toy designs. Alex Sector, in his pet shop, leaves a snake in the care of an unsuspecting customer. Hondo McLean simply walks out of his History class. Dusty Hayes lets his pizza dough fall to the ground as he runs off to answer the M.A.S.K. page. Buddy Hawks stops pumping gas at the Boulder Hill Gas Station. Trakker heads for M.A.S.K. headquarters by way of his subterranean Bullet Shuttle. Scott and T-Bob follow. At V.E.N.O.M.’s headquarters, Miles Mayhem is performing experiments on the meteor. He splits the meteor into three pieces, and the ensuing radiation kills all plant life present. Mayhem is pleased, and sends Rax and Dagger to inform interested countries that this deadly weapon, the “Deathstone”, is available for $50 million. Meanwhile, at Boulder Hill, Matt gets the M.A.S.K. agents up to speed, and then checks the radiation-tracking satellite to find the meteor’s location. They energize their masks and roll out. Bruce suggests V.E.N.O.M. may have used their helicopter as part of their UFO ruse. V.E.N.O.M. packs the three portions of the meteor into separate trucks. Matt notes that the radiation signature is splitting up three ways and orders M.A.S.K. to split up. Switchblade attacks Condor and Firecracker. Matt breaks pursuit to help in Thunderhawk, but Brad uses Hocus Pocus to confuse Switchblade’s missile into redirecting back at Switchblade. Mayhem pulls up just in time, and the missile detonates on the side of a mountain. Scott and T-Bob have stowed away in the bed of Firecracker. They immediately regret this decision. As Piranha approaches Rhino in a canyon, Bruce activates his Lifter mask, removing Rax from his vehicle and repeatedly throwing him into the canyon walls. Scott and T-Bob watch in horror as Jackhammer converts into action mode behind Firecracker. Hondo activates the Shredder, which does hit Jackhammer but also distracts him from the fact that Rhino is about to collide with Firecracker head-on. Hondo narrowly avoids the collision, but in the maneuver Scott is thrown from the vehicle. With Jackhammer bearing down on the boy, Gator comes to the rescue. Dusty fires on Dagger with the Electric Ouch, putting him to sleep. Hondo dives on top of Scott. Mayhem fires another missile, but Condor’s Antimatter Beam annihilates it; the wreckage of the missile falls on Hondo. Mayhem orders V.E.N.O.M. to continue with their mission, so Jackhammer and Piranha drive away. Brad informs Matt that Scott was present at the battle. He lands Thunderhawk and the team finds an unconscious Hondo. Scott, guilty at the trouble he’s caused, resolves to recover the meteor himself in order to save Hondo. A seaplane lands at a dock, where Mayhem and a pair of V.E.N.O.M. Henchmen are waiting. Unbeknownst to all, Scott and T-Bob are hiding behind V.E.N.O.M.’s truck. T-Bob creates a diversion, distracting the transaction while Scott radios his dad from the cockpit of Switchblade. Alex receives Scott’s information on the radio, and Matt tells his son to find his way home immediately. T-Bob is about to be pulled apart by V.E.N.O.M. agents when Scott creates his own distraction in an attempt to pilot Switchblade in conventional mode. In their mad dash for safety, Mayhem, the V.E.N.O.M. agents, and their potential buyer all end up in the water; Scott ditches and lands on the dock as Switchblade crashes into the water as well. Scott, wary of piloting vehicles after this latest experience, asks a reluctant T-Bob to drive V.E.N.O.M.’s truck back home. Matt rallies his troops in their search for the meteor. Condor, still in conventional mode, switches to Laser-Guided Jet Mode and speeds off at Mach 1. As Dagger meets with another of V.E.N.O.M.’s potential buyers at an airport, Condor zooms between the two parties and snatches the piece of the meteor. Jackhammer chases the motorcycle, but Brad uses Condor’s anti-matter beam to make a temporary hole in a concrete wall to escape. The hole closes before Jackhammer can pass through, but Dagger simply crashes through the wall. After crashing through another wall (and some crates), Jackhammer finds itself on a collision course with Rhino. Bruce activates Rhino’s smokescreen, causing Dagger to lose control and crash into a freight elevator. Meanwhile, Rax drives Piranha onto a populated beach, where he hops into his submarine sidecar and, to the amazement of the beachgoers (including a cameo appearance by Penny), ejects into the ocean. The onlookers are equally shocked as Gator arrives and expels a hydroplane from the chassis of the jeep. Rax meets up with another potential meteor buyer in a boat off shore. Dusty uses Gator’s Freeze Gun to suspend their transaction, and retrieves the piece of the meteor. Apparently Scott was unable to stop Mayhem’s transaction, so Thunderhawk chases after the seaplane. Mayhem chases him, but Matt performs a looping maneuver and ends up behind Switchblade. Matt fires a missile, which attaches itself to the top of Switchblade and fires its booster rocket, making it impossible for Mayhem to control the plane. Matt laments his inability to capture the seaplane as he heads home. Returning to M.A.S.K. headquarters, Matt admits to his team that he was unable to recover the third piece of the meteor. However, Scott arrives with the missing piece; it was, in fact, still in the truck he and T-Bob stole from V.E.N.O.M.. Professor Stevens is able to put the pieces of the meteor back together, and Hondo wakes up good as new. But to the disappointment of all, the meteor has lost its power. Meanwhile back at V.E.N.O.M. headquarters, Mayhem is fuming over his defeat but swears that next time victory against M.A.S.K. will be his. Safety Tip Matt, Scott and T-Bob instruct viewers to look both ways when retrieving a ball from the street. Appearances M.A.S.K. agents *Matt Trakker - Spectrum (first appearance) *Brad Turner - Hocus Pocus (first appearance) *Bruce Sato - Lifter (first appearance) *Alex Sector - Jackrabbit (first appearance) *Hondo McLean -Blaster (first appearance) *Dusty Hayes - Backlash (first appearance) *Buddy Hawks - Penetrator (first appearance) M.A.S.K. vehicles *Thunderhawk (first appearance) *Condor (first appearance) *Rhino (first appearance) *Firecracker (first appearance) *Gator (first appearance) V.E.N.O.M. agents *Miles Mayhem - Viper (first appearance) *Cliff Dagger - Torch (first appearance) *Sly Rax - Stiletto (first appearance) **V.E.N.O.M. Henchmen (first appearance) V.E.N.O.M. vehicles *Switchblade (first appearance) *Jackhammer (first appearance) *Piranha (first appearance) Civilians *Scott Trakker (first appearance) *T-Bob (first appearance) *Professor Stevens (first appearance) Quotes "The bidding starts at fifty million dollars for a piece of...the Deathstone." - Miles Mayhem "Excuse me, do you know when the next bus to Denver will be coming by this way?" "Is this your idea of a joke, Mayhem?" "No! Uh...I don't know what...uh..." - T-Bob, a prospective meteor buyer, and Miles Mayhem as T-Bob creates a diversion. "Find your way back to the house. Ask for directions if you have to." - Matt Trakker to Scott Trakker "M.A.S.K.? No, I don't know anyone named Mask. I used to know somebody named Marvin but he doesn't live around here." - T-Bob "You know how to drive a truck?" "Uh...well...uh..." "Great, you drive!" - Scott Trakker gets T-Bob to drive, following Scott's harrowing experience in Switchblade "Okay, gentlemen. This one's for Hondo." - Matt Trakker '"Excuse me, Which way did he go? Thank you kindly!" - Dusty Hayes "Y'all stay cool now, ya hear?" - Dusty Hayes "I don't know whether to hug you or spank you!" - Matt Trakker to Scott Trakker, who managed to bring the third piece of the Deathstone. "Well I'll be. The dang thing don't work anymore. Boy, they sure don't make meteors like they used to." - Dusty Hayes, as the Deathstone loses its power after healing Hondo McLean. "M.A.S.K. may have won the battle, but the war goes on. Next time, the victory will be mine!" - Miles Mayhem Satoisms *''"If a fish flies, look not for a fish but a bird inside."'' Continuity *Being the pilot episode, this is the first appearance of all vehicles and characters featured. *The sequence of Dusty Hayes dropping a pizza when he gets the call from M.A.S.K. is used again in Solaria Park. Conflicts *After the fake UFO steals the meteor from the crash site, Cliff Dagger is seen holding a remote control, indicating he was guiding the UFO with it. But later it is explained that the V.E.N.O.M. helicopter Switchblade was in the UFO shell instead. *Professor Stevens is wearing a radiation suit when she escapes in a jeep and is seen to retrieve a video tape from her camera. V.E.N.O.M. causes her jeep to crash into the water, and when she awakes she has been rescued, brought to Matt Trakker's mansion, and has the videotape in the pocket of her jacket. Even if she was wearing this jacket underneath her radiation suit, how did she get the tape in her inside pocket and why didn't her clothes get wet? Behind the Scenes *While the piece of space debris featured in this episode is consistently referred to as a "meteor", technically the Deathstone is a meteorite. A meteor is a piece of space debris that has entered the atmosphere. A meteorite is the term for a piece of such debris which has survived the trip through the atmosphere and impacted on the ground. *A Golden book titled Mission: Meteor was released based on this episode, as well as one based on "The Roteks". *A set of View-Master reels was released based on this episode. *A paperback book based on this episode, written by Kenneth Harper and Bruce Hogarth was published by Knight Books in 1986. It was number 01 in this series. *Sharon Noble voices Professor Stevens, but neither Gloria Baker nor Vanessa Warfield appear in this episode. Voice Cast *Doug Stone as Matt Trakker, Hondo McLean, Dusty Hayes and Bruce Sato *Mark Halloran as Buddy Hawks, Sly Rax, Cliff Dagger and Buyer *Brendan McKane as Alex Sector and Miles Mayhem *Graeme McKenna as Brad Turner and T-Bob *Sharon Noble as Professor Stevens and M.A.S.K. Computer *Brennan Thicke as Scott Trakker External links *Big Cartoon Database *Frank's He-Man page *Internet Movie Database *TVdb *TV.com *TVmaze Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 Episodes